Interested in working as a freelancer for a translations agency?

You’ve come to the right place. The competition can be tough – there’s no doubt about that. Translation companies receive a high volume of applications from freelancers every week. The standard is high, the competition is fierce, and the need to make your application stand out is greater than ever.
So, we thought we’d provide you with some guidelines. Here are our 5 key tips on how to make your application to a translation agency shine.

1. Research, research, research

When it comes to getting noticed by the agency’s resourcing team, sacrificing a small amount of time to investigate the company’s background will be worth the while.
Augment your chances of success by tailoring your applications for each individual agency, based on the research you’ve conducted. A covering letter which is specific, personalised, and denotes exactly why you want to work for the company will aid progression to the next stage. Demonstrating awareness of the company’s mission, culture and ethos will also stand you in good stead for impressing our recruitment team. Exemplary cover letters clearly state which of the selection criteria is met by the candidate, and offer transferable skills and experiences to make up for any shortfalls. The best candidates also tailor their CV to the positions, highlighting key strengths and skills which are applicable to the role.

2. Getting the application process correct

The power of getting to grips with the agency’s processes is not to be underestimated. By way of example, a high volume of applicants fail to realise most translation agencies have a designated recruitment area on their website, which details our minimum specifications, and provides a link to contact our recruitment team. Instead, many hopefuls submit their applications to our enquiries email address – an inbox designed for job enquiries from our clients – entirely missing the candidate specifications listed on the recruitment page. Others contact our team members on LinkedIn, often messaging an individual who doesn’t deal with the recruitment process at all.

Familiarising yourself with the company’s recruitment process in order to contact the right team not only saves both parties unnecessary email traffic, but also goes some way to demonstrate astuteness. What’s more, it ensures your application is seen by the intended recipient – a win-win situation for both parties.

3. Check the requirements

Many translation agencies have stringent requirements for recruiting freelancers. Most companies will require a degree and a solid few years of translating or interpreting experience. Companies which usually translate for clients in certain industries will also often look for their freelancers to specialise. Ensuring you meet these requirements before beginning work on your application is strongly advisable, as it avoids both employer and applicant time being wasted. It makes sense to focus your efforts on companies which have selection criteria matching your experiences, work history, and specialisms. If you have a vast and rich experience of completing financial translations, focusing your efforts on agencies which specialise in financial translation is highly advisable, as is making the most of your past accomplishments in this area.

4. Subject lines which err on the side of caution

Sometimes, the subject lines of application emails we receive raise a few eyebrows. Claims that the sender is “gifted”, “born with a second tongue”, or possesses “unnaturally exceptional ability” crop up occasionally in our inbox.
Although you might think that entitling your application email ‘Translator application: English to French’ fails to excite, the vast majority of translation agencies are the sort of people who prefer forthrightness, precision, and accuracy. In a word, precision and accuracy are what translation companies do. Subject lines which get straight to the point, and skip the exaggeration or embellishment, will invoke genuine excitement in a recruiter.

5. Impeccable English

This should probably go without saying, but the body of your application email should be written and formatted well. At translation agencies, writing, formatting and great presentation are of paramount importance. Your CV should follow in the same vein: potential employers will view your CV as a means to scan for excellent English skills, flawless grammar and good presentation.

Personalised cover letters, either making up the email body or included as an attachment, will add to your application, so don’t skip over this vital step. Putting the effort in at this stage means you’re much more likely to impress your chosen company.

You can download this article in the form of a infographic for your own reference.

The diversity within the langauges of the world is, in a word, glorious. Neighbouring countries can have completely different phrases, terms and slangwords for the same concept, with no visible correlation. In particular, idioms vary hugely from language to language. In English, we can be green with envy, we might see red, or we could be feeling a bit blue. But uttering those phrases in another language might earn you some strange looks.

Adam Jacot de Boinod, author of The Meaning of Tingo and Other Extraordinary Words from around the World, has delved into some of the most interesting idioms from across Europe for us, specifically in relation to the colour yellow in this issue. Who knew one colour could have so many linguistic uses?

1. French: “Jaune d’envie” – yellow (i.e. green) with envy

2. German: “Gelb vor Eifersucht werden” – to become yellow with jealousy

3. Norwegian: “Slå noen gul og blå” – to beat someone up badly (literally to beat someone yellow and blue)

4. Turkish: “Sararıp solmak” – looking sad or unwell (lit. getting yellow and withered)

5. Portuguese “Me ferrei de verde e amarelo!” – I’m in trouble (lit. I’m screwed in green and yellow!)

6. Portuguese: “Sorriso amarelo” – a forced, insincere smile (lit. a yellow smile)

7. French: “Rire jaune” – to give a forced, insincere laugh (lit. to laugh yellow)

8. French: “Voir jaune” – to be pessimistic (lit. to see yellow)

9. Italian: “un libro giallo” – a thriller book (lit. a yellow book)

10. Italian: “giallo d’invidia” – very envious (lit. yellow with envy)

11. Romanian: “a se îngălbeni de frică” – to become visibly afraid (lit. to become yellow with fear)

12. Romanian: “a flutura steguleţe galbene” – to blather (lit. to stream little yellow flags)

13. Romanian: “galben ca turta de ceară” – very pale (lit. as yellow as wax cake)

14. Romanian: “a râde/surâde galben” – to laugh or smile in a forced, insincere way (lit. to laugh or smile yellow)

15. German: “das Gelbe vom Ei” – a good thing (lit. the yellow of the egg)

16. Serbo-Croatian: “žut ko krpa” – nauseous (lit. yellow as cloth)

17. Estonian: “sárga az irigységtől” – very envious (lit. yellow with envy)

18. Estonian: “leissza magát a sárga földig” – he’s very drunk (lit. he drinks himself to the yellow gourd)

19. Polish: “żółtodziób” – an inexperienced person, a rookie (lit. a yellow beak)

20. Polish: “mieć żółte papiery” – to be insane (lit. to have yellow papers)

21. Scottish Gaelic: “buidheach” – jaundice (lit. yellowness)

22. Finnish: “keltanokka” – a beginner, a rookie (lit. yellow-beaked)

23. Swedish: “slå någon gul och blå” – to bruise someone (lit. to hit someone yellow and blue)

24. Danish: “et barn på gule plader” – a step-child (lit. a child with yellow licence plates)

25. Italian: “un giallo” – an unsolved mystery (lit. a yellow)

Adam Jacot de Boinod is the author of The Meaning of Tingo and Other Extraordinary Words from around the World, published by Penguin Books, and the creator of the iPhone App Tingo, a quiz on Interesting Words.

For those of you who follow our social media accounts, you would have come across our 15 predictions about business & corporate training for 2015. For those that missed them – this is for you!

So, what do the Kwintessential (Consulting) team predict will happen in 2015?

#1: Globalisation will see the need for more localized training content in local languages

#2: Environmental concerns will see less printed workbooks and more training collateral in the Cloud and on Smart devices

#3: Learning Management Systems combined with analytics will lead to more personalised, individual-centred, training solutions

#4: A focus on the sustainability of learning will drive the training sector to deliver long term value

#5: Closing the gender talent gap will be a high priority for company training agendas

#6: Increasing virtual teamwork will necessitate the creation of common understandings, glossaries and collaborative platforms

#7: Emerging markets will leverage diaspora connections producing more “local” knowledge

#8: Cultural awareness will increasingly be taught to younger generations

#9: Diversity will be the antidote to groupthink

#10: Intra-generational training will grow in demand as firms seek to leverage knowledge of both young and old

#11: Compulsory training topics will increase for employers out of need to reduce exposure to litigious risk

#12: Holisitic approaches to employee welfare shall become more popular including diet, exercise and mental wellbeing

#13: Higher demands will be placed on pedagogical skills and creating an engaging, compelling, immersive and emotional learning experience

#14: Storytelling will become a more widely-used training technique because of its capacity to inspire and build empathy

#15: Mindfulness will be an increasingly sought after skill across organisations and a fundamental requirement for leaders

Understanding a country’s past helps you understand its present. XX Kathinka gives her viewpoint on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; a physical and symbolic wall that shaped the Cold War and today still influences German culture.

After 28 years of separation by the iron curtain, a jubilant crowd celebrated the reunification of Germany. November 9th, 1989 went down in history when, followed by years of peaceful protests, the wall finally fell. It took another 11 months until the Eastern part of Germany officially acceded to the West on October 3rd, 1990 – today this date is celebrated as the Day of the German Union.

Now the German separation was over. Eventually families, friends, colleagues, and entire cities were reunited. Or weren’t we? Are we still not?! That’s a question even I ask myself as a German, born in 1987 in West Germany.

This year, Germany is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. What lessons did we learn and did we eventually become one nation again?

We are the same but different

Well, it is not as black and white as it seems at first glance. It is true, from Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria, we are all Germans. We are from the same country and we speak the same language, but we were influenced by different cultures, music, books, authors and ideologies. The lives of thousands of people changed with the separation of Germany by the iron curtain that was basically built over night.

Families seperated by the early line which became the Berlin Wall
Photo courtesy of Once Upon a Time in War

All of a sudden, we were integrated into different regimes – the Eastern part under the control of the former Soviet Union, and the Western part mainly controlled by Western Allies. Slowly but surely, Germany became the scene of another part of history, the Cold War. There were soldiers with their trained dogs on both sides of the border who had orders to open fire on anyone who made a wrong move. There was propaganda on both sides which shaped entire generations.

One-way street to a unified Germany

Keeping this in mind, the term “reunification” might be misleading as it can be argued “the West took over the East”. On the one hand, people living in the Eastern part had had enough of oppression, dictatorship, censorship, and the numerous limitations. Many of them just wanted to be free and the West represented the ultimate goal of their dreams. When the wall finally came down, nobody even questioned the West being considered standard and the East being inferior, not only in terms of economy, finance or quality of goods but also culture-wise. The reunification was more a one-way street leading to difficulties in the West as well as in the East.

In the aftermath, people started to reconsider and to weigh disadvantages and advantages: People from the former Eastern part weren’t accustomed to unemployment, but capitalism could not provide employment for everybody. The West on the other hand was financially more stable than the East and therefore had to support the East in this aspect (e.i. alignment of currency, unemployed, weak economy, etc.). In retrospect it seems as if someone decided that in order to get rid of the Stasi (Eastern Germany security police that observed and took away potential opponents of the regime), oppression, and censorship, the East had to vanish.

What the future holds

All of these issues still have an impact on all generations in Germany. However, the way my parents and grand-parents see people from the other side of the Wall is largely different to how younger generations perceive the situation today. From my point of view, we are in the process of growing together and we’ve already come a long way. Growing together is not easy, especially if the norm is to mistrust your neighbours because they might be observing you to betray you to the Stasi.

Growing together is not easy if you feel you have to financially shoulder the others. But there is no point in moaning over the past, because we are the people – that is what we learned. The next generation is already in its way to a more unified Germany.

By Kathinka Ottenbreit. From Darmstadt, Hesse in Germany, Kathinka studies M.A. Conference Interpreting at Heidelberg University. She is also a working student for SNP AG (software solutions and consulting) in Germany. At the moment she is working with Kwintessential Consulting. Next milestones: graduating from university, working as an interpreter and definitely consolidating cultural training/cultural awareness knowledge.

As part of the 2014 Export Week, Kwintessential trainer Joyce Jenkins was invited to speak at UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Women in Export event.

UKTI offers its services to UK based companies seeking to expand their business overseas, providing expert advice and practical support for exporting into foreign markets and understanding overseas business practices.

Their Master Class, held at Gatwick on the 13th of November, dealt with the challenges faced by women when exporting, with a particular focus on doing business in the Far East.

In addition to gaining a better understanding of the role UKTI can play in assisting companies in exporting, attendees heard from representatives of women-led businesses who had overcome barriers to trade in this region. Victoria Christian, Global Brand Ambassador for luxury goods producer Clive Christian, along with Claire Selby, Managing Director of educational materials producer Yellow House English Ltd., spoke about their respective experiences entering markets in the Far East.

Cultural Aspects of Doing Business in the Far East

The session concluded with a cultural workshop entitled ‘Doing Business in China and Japan’, conducted by Kwintessential’s Joyce Jenkins. With over thirty years of professional experience interacting in the Far East, Joyce has extensive knowledge of the cultural differences which can affect working within these countries.

The aim of her session, therefore, was to educate attendees in the importance of acquiring an awareness of these differences and ultimately to adjust their behaviour appropriately to suit the new working environment. Focusing on key areas in which the East differs from the West with regards to attitudes and norms, Joyce offered advice for the purposes of improving working relations across these cultures.

Questions asked following her session confirmed the hesitation people often experience when adjusting behaviour to suit new cultural customs for business purposes. Joyce, however, was quick to reassure that while making an effort to adapt to new ways of working is much appreciated, a perfect comprehension of new norms is not expected. Explaining that even with her wealth of knowledge she still finds herself acquiring new knowledge from her cultural interactions, Joyce concluded by highlighting that the most important factor in conducting business in any environment is the display of respect.

Some tips for doing business in China and Japan taken from Joyce’s session

The importance of Confucianism

This set of shared values places an emphasis on harmonious relationships and consequently diminishes the role of the individual. Roles are defined clearly according to society’s national inequalities and social hierarchies are obeyed. Understanding where you fit within this hierarchy will be important to the person you are doing business with. In accordance with this teaching, the characteristics of modesty, humility and courtesy are highly regarded.

Relationships

Establishing relationships prior to doing business is essential and trust is developed through actions. When you enter into a business relationship, be aware that the connection you make is considered to be long term and so it must be maintained. The concept of ‘guanxi’ refers to the system of networks in which contacts and connections are most important. This can make it difficult for foreigners looking to do new business in this region.

Face

The status and dignity of others must be preserved, therefore avoid causing “loss of face” by giving personal criticism or putting people on the spot. Instead try to be discrete when giving feedback and using ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ to solve problems.

High and Low Context

While Britain is located more towards the explicit end of the scale, both Japan and China are implicit cultures who communicate in an indirect manner. Therefore, avoid asking ‘yes’ or no’ questions and instead probe using open-ended questions. Remain patient as business and conversations usually take longer in this cultural environment. In addition, listen out for messages which may appear in cues such as tone, body language, hesitance or silence.

Business cards

Business cards must be exchanged using both hands and usually with a slight bow. Once received, the card should be carefully examined and treated with respect; place it in a case and do not write on it. Note too that cards should be printed in both languages. 

Management

A team manager is usually seen as a ‘benevolent authoritarian’ who holds the power to make final decisions. Managers should be clear when setting desired outcomes and time frames and ensure that progress points are factored into the process. Be aware that the purpose of company meetings is to announce decisions and look for consensus, rather than to conceive ideas. In addition, in China and Japan, contracts signal the start rather than the end of the negotiation process.  

Hospitality

Accept invitations and be aware that business is not often discussed over dinner so do not bring it up yourself. Try to accept and eat any food offered to show respect. If you bring gifts, make sure they are nicely wrapped and do not expect them to be opened in front of you, or to receive a thank you. Finally, make sure you have a song ready for participating in Karaoke!

Thanks to the UKTI South East team for involving Kwintessential in Export Week. We hope those who attended found Joyce’s workshop interesting and will be more prepared and confident in their future dealings with the Far East.

by Claire Booth for the Culture Vulture.

Would you drink fermented mare’s milk with your new potential Mongolian business partners to seal a deal? Or would you politely decline? The answer may come down to the strength of your stomach or your awareness of local etiquette.

“If you were to not drink it or have any sort of reaction to that initial taste, it would definitely lower your standing within a meeting,” says Will Tindall, co-founder of Emerging Crowd. “And you’re very much expected to have a shot each time someone has spoken.”

This is one of any cultural conundrums revealed by Matthew Jenkin in his Guardian article on the role of etiquette in international business.

Tindall, experienced at navigating the cultural landscape of Asia, stresses that even with his experience it can sometimes be hard to get your head around different local customs.  

He recalls a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, where he met a senior banking official. He gave a bow, accepted the business card and then began to make notes on the card. “At that point I saw this guy’s face change to a very strange shade of red. My actions went down incredibly badly.” Writing on the card was a major faux pas as in Japan, the card is a representation of the owner.

Cultural differences go beyond etiquette; sometimes it’s much more subtle. Louis Barnett, the founder of Louis Barnett Chocolates, states that one of his biggest challenges was understanding that in some cultures business is much more than business; it’s personal.

He recalls going into a meeting in Mexico being very business-focused, driven, factual and hard-nosed. This worked against him as Mexicans prioritise personal relationships above business prowess. His lack of interaction with his hosts was interpreted as showing complete disinterest in the people.

How we communicate is also important.  Simon Duffy, Bulldog Swimcare, explains that he discovered that how you phrase things was vital to saving face in South Korea.  “One of the things we tried to avoid was phrasing questions that required a yes or no answer, as Koreans try to avoid the latter.” Asking questions in such as manner would be seen as confrontational to local sensibilities.

Remember, culture is important – wherever you go always try to read up on how locals like to do things. Are they business or relationship driven? Do they value direct, frank communication or prefer a softer, more personal approach? It’s these and many other questions that can help give you a competitive advantage when working abroad. Through appreciation of the local culture, you’ll find doors open and things happen much quicker.

Check out our free Country Profiles for some basic etiquette and cultural information from around the globe.

Working with people from different cultures is becoming increasingly more common; however it can also give rise to challenges. Thankfully, Erin Meyer has recently published a book that provides a framework on how different cultures across the globe view communication at work.

There are many books available on cultural awareness; we believe there is always room for more! This is why were were excited to learn about the latest addition to the genre, The Culture Map. 

In this book, Erin Meyer explains the differences between cultures in terms of communication at work from different parts of the globe. Contributor at Forbes Rawn Shah has written a great a great review on the book here.

In her book, Meyer shares an anecdote from Jorge da Silva. Da Silva is an engineer at a steel company in Brazil. When he and his colleagues tried to convince their American counterparts to adopt a new process, Meyer says, they found that the Americans didn’t want to hear about the reasons for the new approach, but were more interested in what the method would change. This anecdote clearly illustrates that different cultures can have a different view on doing work together, Shah says.

The Da Silva anecdote, Shah explains, is only one of the many examples in Meyer’s book that illustrate communication styles and how people consider ideas at work differently. Affiliate Professor in the Organisational Behaviour Department of INSEAD b-school in France, Meyer was on the “On the Radar” list of the Thinkers50 last year and has worked as HR director for McKesson, HBOC, and Aperian Global.

In The Culture Map, she shares the data she gathered after researching 20-30 different countries.

One of the discoveries Meyer made is that national culture is dominant over the culture in a company. Many organisations now work on a global scale, meaning  their employees are faced with different cultures. This is why Shah believes cultural awareness is a key skill for both managers and employees.

The Culture Map, he says, shows that it is possible to gain understanding of the differences in work behaviour across cultures. To do so, Meyer gives a framework of eight different scales, ranging from communication and evaluating to scheduling and persuading.

These scales don’t have a wrong or right side, Shah says, but simply show how different cultures handle the concept. Here, Meyer gives the example of the Chinese and Brazilians versus the Danish and the Dutch when it comes to trust: while people in China or Brazil will base trust on personal relationships, people in Denmark and the Netherlands tend to focus on business activities. These cultures are on the far sides of the scale, which means they often view each other’s standpoint as wrong. Thus, before they can successfully work together, both cultures should understand that the opposite view has value as well.

To differentiate between different cultures, The Culture Map seems to presume all people in the same country share the same view. Shah wonders whether it is useful to stereotype people of the same culture. Meyer has also thought about this and responds to it by saying that if you don’t take people’s national culture into account, you will look at them from your own point of view, which can lead to misjudgements.

Shah agrees that national culture matters, but for a different reason: he believes national culture is a great starting point to understand an individuals.

Next to giving an overview of the book’s most important feature – the framework, – Shah also shares his opinion on the book with his readers. He applauds the real stories included in the book that illustrate culture clashes from different points of view. These anecdotes plus Meyer’s personal stories equal a “fascinating read,” he says.

The book is now available on Amazon!

Traditionally, Japanese video games were only intended for players in the country itself. Now that gamers are broadening their scope, more games make it to the international market. However, as the Japanese culture is very different to that of Europe and the US, localization is in order.

Japanese video games are not always launched in the Western market. Take for example the game “God Eater 2.” 

In an article on the Japan Times, Jason Coskrey explains that this action role-playing game was released in Japan in November last year, but its creator, Bandai Namco Games, had no plans to release the game anywhere other than Japan.

This has led to protests from fans all around the world: according to Coskey, the petition “Bring ‘God Eater 2’ to North America and EU” that can be found on Change.org has already been signed by over 700 people.  

According to Croskey this wasn’t the only game at the Tokyo Game Show that will remain within the Japanese market. He believes this practice has been common for quite some time now, to the frustration of gamers abroad.

Reasons to refrain from international releases are manifold, Croskey says. At TGS, Tsuyoshi Oka from D3Publisher, for example, stated that because the Japanese culture is so different from that of the rest of the world, Japanese content sometimes isn’t suitable for foreign gamers.

However, Oka does believe the Japanese market is growing. In fact, Croskey points out, D3 has published two previous titles of popular series (“Onechanbara” and “Earth Defence Force”) in the western market. Although the company has no intentions to release the latest versions of these games, that were playable at TGS, in Europe and the US any time soon, Oka predicts that Japanese games will reach increasingly the West.

There’s more to releasing games in another market than shipping disks overseas:  language barriers must be overcome as well.

This can be quite costly for Japanese companies, especially for role-playing games that feature a lot of text. After all, cultural aspects often have to be translated too.

Croskey gives the example of the game “Ryu ga Gotoku” (or “Yakuza,” as it’s known internationally) that was released by Sega. This game is set in Japan today, which means cultural references have to be localized for players abroad.

Former game journalist and co-founder of localization company 8-4, John Ricciardi, states that games in the Yakuza series have very large scripts because the number of characters you can interact with is very large and players’ decisions influence the scenario and what characters say.

Ricciardi claims localizing great amounts of text can cost game makers millions of dollars. This can be a big risk for games that don’t sell that great in the US. However, Ricciardi says this sometimes is a risk worth taking.

Croskey reveals that gamers’ tastes have changed over the years. This is the reason why dating sims, romance games aimed at women, are now launched internationally by gaming companies such as Voltage Inc. A number of translation companies have jumped on the localization bandwagon: Sunflare, for example as it launched its game-localization service earlier this year.

Concluding, Croskey believes gamers simply like good games, no matter where they come from. He thinks it would be a great victory for the Japanese gaming industry when Japanese games are launched all over the world. And the industry might soon experience this victory: Ricciardi, for one, believes gamers’ tastes have broadened, meaning most Japanese games will be launched beyond the country’s borders.

As Chinese consumers have more and more money to spend, they expect more from the hotels they visit – inside their own country and abroad. Hotel chains can thus seriously benefit from localization efforts.

When thinking of hotel chains that are opening new additions to their company abroad, localization might not be the first thing that comes to mind.

In an article on China Daily, however, Jiang Wanjuan states that the hospitality design industry must keep in mind that their creations appeal to the intended audience. Over the years, travellers have become more sophisticated, Wanjuan says, and hotels are used for more than just sleeping. For an optimum hotel experience, she says, guests should be reminded of exactly where they are.

Of course, this applies to hospitality design in China as well. Even though international companies used to transfer their hotel designs directly to their Chinese locations, this practice has long been abandoned, Wanjuan says.

Now, there are even conferences on subject of localization for the Asian market! At the 2014 Asia Hotel Forum, for example, discussions were held on how to adapt hotels to fit the market and strategies to attract more Chinese guests. At the conference, Wanjuan spoke to two experts on hospitality design: Christian Low and Eric D. Ullmann.

Wanjuan started off by asking the two why some hotels alter their design for new markets, while others employ the same design all over the world? Low, Asia Pacific regional director of hospitality with designing provider AECOM, replies that traditionally, large hotel chains liked to maintain a uniform look all over the world. However, he says this trend is changing – now, most hotels are trying to offer their guests a localized experience for every country their hotels are in.

Of course, Low says, the design is a very important feature of a hotel. He claims successful hotels have their own “design soul” and that localization and uniqueness have always played a big role in the works of innovative design firms.

Ullman, who is the president and design principal of DMU, a global leader in hotel interior design, adds that people also travel to see the city; hotels have to incorporate the country’s culture in their design to provide the best experience possible. Designers must keep the users in mind, he says, in hopes that guests will tell others about the great time they had at the hotel.

Ullman also claims companies are now trying harder to understand the Chinese customer: after all, there is a lot of money to be found on the Asian continent! Hospitality design has greatly been influenced by China. Now, he says, Chinese companies expand overseas, and Chinese people travel abroad as well.

This means international companies are trying to design hotels that appeal to the Chinese consumer. Wanjuan asks Low and Ullman what the Chinese actually like when it comes to hotel designs: Low states that the travelling Chinese are more and more sophisticated, meaning they are looking for unique, ingeniously designed hotels that incorporate the culture of the country they are in. Ullman adds that the Chinese also value a private dining area and lounge very highly. He does point out Chinese travellers have become more demanding: in fact, some simply travel to see hotels!

When asked about the average Chinese hotel, Low says that compared to overseas equivalents, the Chinese were often not that innovative in their designs. He believes this can be attributed to the fact that China simply didn’t have the monetary resources to do otherwise. However, this has changed in recent years, he says, and there are now a number of innovative hotels to be found in China. He also states that recent studies on China’s demographic and economy reveal a demand for budget and mid-market hotels, but Low believes there is room for growth in all segments. However, as the Chinese are increasingly sophisticated, he says, innovation is an important feature regardless of the prince range.

Concluding, Low says it is worthwhile to keep a close watch on the Chinese hospitality market – which includes both these hotels that are located in China and those aimed at Chinese guests travelling abroad. He believes the innovation, cultural sensitivity and the increasingly demanding Chinese consumers will raise the industry’s standards.

Films have had many languages designed especially for them. Some have been ignored and been lost in history whereas others are used today by diehard fans and have dictionaries and translators online. Here are some of the more popular that are used amongst fans.

We’ll start with a language that has gone down as one of the most widely used and popularised fictional languages ever. Klingon was first used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 although only 11 short phrases were used.  Marc Okrand and James Doohan (Scotty) created the famed language in the mid-seventies and is centred on the Klingon principles of spacecraft’s and warfare. It has been used on several occasions in other films and on TV shows including The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, Paul (2011) and Kill Bill (2003). Klingon is so popular that it has its own dictionary and classic plays such as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet have been performed in the language and even the Bible has been translated in to Klingon.

In 2009, James Cameron released the record breaking Avatar which had its own language called Na’vi. The Na’vi language is spoken by the tribe of the same name who live on the planet Pandora. It was created by Paul Frommer in 2005 who worked on set with the actors to help refine their pronunciation and understanding of the language even though the script contained Na’vi before the cast was assembled. Na’vi hasn’t had any notable uses in other films or TV shows but it is still a growing language that only contains around 1,500 words as of 2011.

Minionese is the fictional language spoken by the Minions in the Despicable Me franchise. It can also be called the Banana Language as a reference to their colour. While it is a new language, it already has more online translators than any other fictional language. While it is an official language with its own dictionary and words, it does borrow some English words in order to help the younger viewers understand what is being said. It even has some phrases that are Spanish – “Para tú” meaning “for you” – and Italian words such as “Gelato” meaning “ice cream” and that’s only naming a few languages. There are also examples of Korean, Filipino and Chinese. It was both made and voiced by the directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud.

Writer George Orwell created Newspeak for his novel “1984” without knowing that one day it would be used in the film adaptation 1984 which was released in 1984! To represent the totalitarian future, Newspeak didn’t contain words for freedom or free because the concept of freedom with literally unthinkable. Newspeak contains no antonyms, so words such as warm and good become unwarm and ungood because it limited the thoughts of the subjects. The word equal is used in Newspeak but only means equal on a physical level rather than social rankings, class and economic wellbeing. And anyone who tries to use “oldspeak” (Normal English from before the totalitarian regime) would be sent to a “joycamp” (forced labour camp). While as a language it sounds simple, Orwell explained in a BBC interview how complicated it was to create and develop so that it wasn’t too complex for a reader and eventually a viewer too.

How could you talk about languages in film and not reference at least one language from Middle Earth? J. R. R. Tolkien was a philologist and so could construct a language at will by merging prehistoric languages to create a new language. He created Elvish as his first language for the series and didn’t stop there. He created different dialects and languages within Elvish as a whole. As a written language, Elvish has 7 scripts although most of them are only used in a certain area or city. Gondolinic Runes are only used in the city of Gondolin and Sarati is only used within the Second Clan. Many of Tolkien’s languages have ties with Latin, Spanish, French, German and English.

Star Wars is another franchise that has developed a reputation for creating an obscene number of languages but a favourite amongst fans is Huttese which is spoken by the Hutts of Evocar. While it has no ties to any current languages, it does share similarities with long dead languages such as Mayan and Nahuatl (spoken by the Aztecs in Mexico). It was created by Ben Burtt and Larry Ward. It is used in 4 of the 6 films and most famously used by Jabba the Hut, although a young Anakin Skywalker uses it to communicate with people on Evocar who don’t use English. It was first seen in Star Wars – later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Han shot first) – when used by Jabba the Hut and it astounded audiences in 1977 and it still does to this day. It is rarely used in other media but was referenced in the final series of How I Met Your Mother.

The Harry Potter series also contains many fascinating languages but none are more interesting than Parseltongue. Parseltongue can only be used by certain gifted witches or wizards in order to communicate with snakes. It was first seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). Speakers of the language are referred to as Parselmouths and it is commonly a sign of Dark Magic and evil. The final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), explains why Harry has the ability. If you haven’t seen it already I won’t tell you any more in case I spoil it for you. Although Parseltongue was referenced in the books it was written in Standard English to reflect the fact that the character knew what was being said.

Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange contains the Nadsat language. It is a Russian influenced English language where the name is derived from the Russian prefix “teen”. It contains some Russian words and phrases, some English slang such as “sod off” and there are some child-like elements to it including “appy polly loggy” which mean apology. Burgess himself created it as, not only was he a novelist, but he was a linguist too.

Disney also provided us with some memorable languages but by far the most popular was Atlantean from the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It was based on the language of the ancient Babylonians and is mixed with Biblical Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Chinese. Disney tasked the creation of the language to Marc Okrand – the guy who helped create Klingon – who took 5 years to develop the language. According to Disney mythology it was written down as the film was created and it wasn’t until its release in 2001 that it was written down how it should be using the Atlantean alphabet and phonetically so that it could be spoken outside of the studio too.

The 1997 film The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis came with the Mondoshawan language, sometimes called the Divine Language. It was created by director Luc Besson and Willis’ co-star Milla Jovovich who had to speak the language on screen. It only contained 400 words and Besson and Jovovich wrote letters to each other and spoke to one another in the Divine Language so that they could practice using the language. It has a total of 78 letters and its native speakers, called shape shifters, can only speak it as they can change their vocal cords instantly in order to create the correct sound.

Well 28 pages of Google and 12 pages of Bing results later and there are no more languages to write about. So there you go, a run-down of all the major notable languages used in films.

Written by Aiden Froud.